Johannesburg – The Gauteng MEC of Education Matome Chilaone has announced that the 2024 academic year online admissions for Grades 1 and Grade 8 will open on June 15 at 8am until July 14 at midnight.
Chiloane made the announcement on Sunday at Rand Park High School in Randburg. He also outlined the application and placement process which the online admissions system will follow.
With the improvements coming with the 2024 online system, he said the admissions will follow a single application process which means parents and guardians applying for Grades 1 and Grade 8 will all apply at the same time and, during the placement process, offers will also be issued at the same time.
He said the system would take up to 40 000 applications within a minute.
Last year, parents and guardians including unions whose children were admitted late yet they applied early raised their concerns and disappointments about the online system saying the department has failed to find a better solution to the crisis.
Many said the system was not helpful and sometimes would slow and not allow them to re-enter the system.
Talking to their frustrations that parents have expressed about the online admission system, Chiloane assured them that their children will be admitted without any problems as the system is now improved.
To avoid complications, Chilaone has encouraged parents and guardians to apply online on www.gdeadmissions.gov.za to secure space for their children at public schools in 2024.
He has also urged them to follow the following five guidelines when applying for their children:
• Parents are encouraged to use home address within school feeder zone application option to see schools with feeder zones that cover the parent’s home address.
• To increase the chances of placement closer to the parent’s home address, parents should select schools with feeder zones that cover the parent’s home address.
• Parents are encouraged to apply to a minimum of 3 schools and a maximum of 5 schools for each learner.
• Parents cannot make more than one application for one learner to the same school.
• Parents must remember to read and accept the terms and conditions.
Documents required for the Grades 1 and 8 applications are:
1. Parent and Child ID or Passport
2. Refugee Permit
3. Asylum Seeker Permit
4. Permanent Residence Permit
5. Study Permit
6. Your South African Birth Certificate
7. Proof of Home Address
8. Proof of Work Address
9. Latest Grade 7 School Report (Grade 8 applicants only)
10.Clinic Card/Immunisation Report (Grade 1 applicants only)
The MEC mentioned they were on a mission to employ more educators and build more schools to resolve the admission system.
To address the issue of bullying, crimes, gang fights and all sorts of violence at schools, he said they would benefit from the first cohort of crime prevention wardens that Premier Panyaza Lesufi introduced weeks back.
“The Gauteng Department of Education (GDE), in collaboration with fellow GPG departments, law enforcement agencies and communities, will be rolling out initiatives to intensify its Safe School Strategy and other related interventions to ensure our schools remain relatively stable, peaceful and disruption-free,” he said.
He added that will be launching school safety week on May 31.
The program will entail various activities and interventions such as:
• Educational visits to police stations and prisons.
• Meetings with Community Policing Forum.
• Expansion of the Adopt-A-Cop programme where schools are assigned with their own police officer.
• Training of school-based safety committees at the 225 schools at risk. Training started on 17 February and is set to conclude on 10 June 2023.
• Search-and-seizure operations at identified high risk schools.
• Intensification of advocacy programmes against the anti-social acts and behaviour.
Furthermore, parents who will be applying for their Grades 1 and 8 children can expect SMSes with placement offers from September 4.
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